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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    ElfWarriorGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    GM/DM. Making up worlds, cultures, creatures, adventures, and magics is the better part of why I'm into this hobby.

    It also gives you power, which is not intrinsically bad. The GM has authority to shape a lot about the pace, tone, and feel of the game, and I think that power well worth the responsibilities which accompany it; and if a rule system has frustrating or badly thought-out elements, I like being in a position to remedy them directly.
    The desire to appear clever often impedes actually being so.

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  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    OldWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Quote Originally Posted by Catullus64 View Post
    GM/DM. Making up worlds, cultures, creatures, adventures, and magics is the better part of why I'm into this hobby.

    It also gives you power, which is not intrinsically bad. The GM has authority to shape a lot about the pace, tone, and feel of the game, and I think that power well worth the responsibilities which accompany it; and if a rule system has frustrating or badly thought-out elements, I like being in a position to remedy them directly.
    Well put, this is very similar to how I feel. Getting people together to play and keeping a group together in the long term is notoriously hard; I've spent far more time creating adventures/worlds and tinkering with dysfunctional rules (I usually play D&D 3.5 so there are plenty of them...) than I have actually playing. There's only so much time you can spend tinkering with a single character, but an entire world/game system can be a full-time hobby.

    I do like to play as a player now and then, for a change of pace and to remind myself what the game looks like from the other side of the screen, but by choice I'd spend at least three-quarters of my playing time GMing.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Spamalot in the Playground
     
    Psyren's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I enjoy both equally, but I expect I'll get even more into DMing as better tools/VTTs become available to speed up prep time and extemporaneous encounters, and things like surface tables, projectors, and 3D printers become even cheaper.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
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  4. - Top - End - #4
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    GM/DM.
    Partly because I'm the one in my group who perhaps knew a bit more about RPG's to begin with, and was happy to both organise get-togethers and run games. Even now, I'm still the main person to organise anything that some/most of us might be involved in, even when it has nothing to do with gaming.
    Secondly, I'm read heaps and very creative, always thinking of ideas from books/TV/movies that I could use, or simply coming up with ideas, creatures, locations, worlds or campaigns, et al, and often (but not always) putting onto paper/computer to develop further. If I'm a player, my creativity is mostly limited to my character concept and background.

    That said, I'll still play nearly anything given the chance, to see what it's like. There's also NO GM/DM in lots of games - just players.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Imp

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I lean 70% in favor of the DM/GM role.

    DMing is a lot more work, but it's fun work, making worlds, locations, NPCs, quests, reading lore. All this stuff slaps. But my favorite thing about being a DM/GM is that I get to play the system, setting and the genre of game that I want.

    The downside of this role is getting saddled with the hardest part: scheduling

    Sometimes I like to kick back and just play a character too.
    Black text is for sarcasm, also sincerity. You'll just have to read between the lines and infer from context like an animal

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Batcathat's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    My preferences are probably pretty close to 50/50, at least over time. Or possibly something like 60/40 in favor of GMing, for similar reasons as others have mentioned – I just love creating stuff.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I'm somewhat picky about playing, so it's easier for me to GM most of the time, and I enjoy it. But if I have a really outstanding GM who I'm on the same page with and who is running something that can surprise me or that I'm unfamiliar with or is doing something really innovative, that would shift to 70/30 in favor of playing. Or even 80/20.

    I don't have to have that to enjoy playing, but without that I enjoy GMing more since then I can try to find an innovative or surprising thing myself, which isn't so kind to do as a player...

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I like both, but GMing is more stressful and there is always the risk of burnout and it is harder to do when you are really tired because of work or whatever.

    I generally try to avoid running multiple campaigns at the same time. Running one and being player in one or two other groups is my sweet spot.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Kurald Galain's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I prefer GM'ing, and the part I particularly enjoy is making a (short) list of important NPCs or factions, and deciding between sessions what they know and what they're planning on doing next, and then giving the PCs the chance to interfere with these plans if they want.
    Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.

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  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    In forever GM land I often wonder what it’s like to play, go looking for opportunities, then realize yet again that I have been unable find groups running systems and game styles that are engaging enough to be worth my time. So it’s back to my own campaigns, with blackguards and hook horrors.

    I’d like to spend more time as a player, but a 7/10 group loses to an evening spent painting minis, booting up a game, or sometimes going to sleep early.
    If all rules are suggestions what happens when I pass the save?

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    60% GM and 40% player.
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  12. - Top - End - #12
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I enjoy both, but very differently. I've been running a game for a year and a half. It's likely to last for another year and a half. By the time it's done, I will be itching to play again.

    Edit/postscript: Thinking it over, I think I prefer to play. [I certainly enjoy DMing, but I enjoy playing more.] But in the words of Ernest Thompson Seton:

    "Because I have known the torment of thirst, I would build a well where others may drink."
    Last edited by Jay R; 2024-01-23 at 10:27 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    GM is much more fun, IMO... But not only it's A LOT more work... It can also be extremely frustrating. Seeing all that work go to waste when there's no game or when the campaign takes a turn that honestly bothers you... It can be seriously exhausting, both emotionally and intellectually.

    Basically, to me, at least... GMing is like 5x more fun, but it's also 100x more work and has the potential to be 200x times more frustrating when things go bad for whatever reason...

    That's part of why I haven't GM'd in a while. I had some serious burn out a couple years ago, and to this day I haven't recovered. I still play on occasion, but that's about it... Every time I consider GMing again, that thought is followed by memories of the reason I don't do it anymore and I immediately lose any inclination to change that.
    Last edited by Lemmy; 2024-01-23 at 04:53 PM.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I thought about it a bit more, and my 60/40 lean towards GMing is still true. There is something exhilarating about guiding a game and being surprised about where it goes.

    However, that time as a player is critical to help continue to improve my GMing. It gives me a lot of insight into that side of the GM screen and how to try to manage things when I am the GM. Without the periodic playing, I would be much a worse GM.
    *This Space Available*

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Titan in the Playground
     
    KorvinStarmast's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Both.
    Each offers a different kind of enjoyment.
    If you DM a lot, which I have, it is sometimes refreshing to NOT know all of the stuff that's hidden behind the screen and to discover / find out / blunder across it through the play experience.
    Avatar by linklele. How Teleport Works
    a. Malifice (paraphrased):
    Rulings are not 'House Rules.' Rulings are a DM doing what DMs are supposed to do.
    b. greenstone (paraphrased):
    Agency means that they {players} control their character's actions; you control the world's reactions to the character's actions.
    Gosh, 2D8HP, you are so very correct!
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  16. - Top - End - #16
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    RangerGuy

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    smile Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I've never understood people who hate the idea of DMing or look upon it as a "janitor" or "babysitter" role. You get to choose what the scenario is, who the enemies are, and how and when things happen. You are ALWAYS in the spotlight. It does require more work outside the game, but that lessens with experience, to the point you can run a session off a couple of notecards, or with a dungeon map and key on graph paper if needed.

    I've always preferred to be a DM. Being a player is like only getting to do half the game. People always look upon the DM as someone to be grateful for. I always am grateful to my DMs and thank them, but when I DM, if anything I am thankful to the players for being willing to play in MY scenario and let ME choose the monsters, the NPCs, the roleplaying, the type of adventure, et cetera. Do I have a lot of work to do? Yes, but it's the kind of thing I want to do anyway.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    That's actually a bit of a toss up. I love both, but for very very different reasons.

    As many people have stated, being the GM is great because you get to write the story, plot, environment, setting, etc. You get to introduce and run NPCs, and dream up all sorts of fun things and then play them out, in a way you really can't do as a player. There's also a lot of satisfaction when the game runs well, and everyone is having a great time. On the flip side, it is massively more work. The very thing that makes it satisfying when things run well, can also induce stress ahead of time (and even while running the session itself). I've had days where I'm frantically trying to finish up some bits for the game sesssion that starts in like one hour. And did I mention a ton more work?

    Playing is fun, but in a very different way. I get to sit back, relax, and enjoy all the hard work someone else put into the game I'm playing in. I literally don't need to worry about anything other than showing up with my dice and my character sheet. And I get to focus on just my character that I'm actively playing. This allows me to roleplay that character, and really get into the environment and events occuring, in a way you really can't when you're the GM. As a player I don't have to think about 18 different things that are going on. I can just play in the moment (well, mostly). And I certainly spend more time thinking about and planning things for my own characters far more than I do for any NPC I may run as a GM (and that's probably a good thing, now that I think about it).

    So yeah. Both are super fun. I'd probably say I prefer GMing most of the time (so maybe 70/30?). It tickles my worldbuilding funnybone in a way that merely creating and running a character does not. But man is it enjoyable to take a break and let someone else run for awhile.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Anonymouswizard's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    They're different, but I generally lean towards being an improv heavy GM. I like turning up to a session with a folder full of NPCs and a starting point and seeing where the players go: I don't know who killed Duke Fluffykitten, but I know when the player's assumption needs to be wrong for a satisfying session (generally when they accuse the butler).

    It's not that I dislike being a player, there's a fun to be had with coming up with a course of action that the GM is on board with. But it doesn't have the hectic energy of five players all trying to pull the game in different ways and the challenge of trying to balance everyone without reducing anybody's fun.
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    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
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    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Librarian in the Playground Moderator
     
    LibraryOgre's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I wish I could play in the games I DM. How does that fit?
    The Cranky Gamer
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  20. - Top - End - #20
    Orc in the Playground
     
    BarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I prefer to be a player, but I find enjoyment in GMing too. Though currently because of how my last time as a GM went, I'm kind of hesitant to do it again anytime soon.

    As for why I enjoy being a player... I like role-playing my characters, watching my character get more powerful and the interactions my character has with others. I especially have fun when me and the other players get into shenanigans... Not anything particularly bad, but moments where everyone laughs, like a drinking contest or helping an NPC with something important to them.

    As for why I like being a GM, I like seeing how my players handle situations, seeing how they influence the narrative and honestly just enjoy their concepts. I also like playing villains and letting my players punch said villains in the face. I usually make a world and that's fun for me too lol. I also sometimes GM if I feel the current GM could use a break and be a player themselves. But I understand not every GM and player's playstyle will work together... I like GMing, just with players that have a similar idea of cause-and-effect as I do, as one player's comments made me drop the game earlier and soured my views on it for a while after.

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I absolutely prefer GMing! Funnily enough, I think being a player is actually harder for me than being a GM.

    I think this has to do with me trying to be a "good" player when I play, which I find to be pretty hard. But as a GM, I can just prepare some cool tools to interact with PCs and follow their lead! And my tools aren't really restricted by anything, while being a player I can only do what's within a given PC's grasp.

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Quote Originally Posted by LibraryOgre View Post
    I wish I could play in the games I DM. How does that fit?
    Hah! Yeah. I get that sometimes too. Then again, that path runs the risk of being "that GM"...

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    In person, I probably enjoy DMing more but am happy to play. But, these days, my games are online via Roll20 and I just don't have the enthusiasm to figure it out so I stick as a player while the coding nerds in the group talk about rebooting the API because none of the spell effects are showing up. Makes me miss the days of "Oops, need one more orc mini... Ok, this mummy is actually the orc leader" being the largest technical concern.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Nominally I enjoy GMing and most everything it entails, except for two of its facets: putting together (play-by-post) combat maps and planning ahead. The latter perhaps is less of an issue – particularly in PbP, and at any rate I like to think I am reasonably adept at making things up as I go – but the former rules out running any system that uses tactical grids by default as I am not at all keen on applying the "theatre of the mind" approach to those. I do genuinely love coming up with an overall premise/story framework, NPCs etc. and watching how the PCs bounce off it all (rarely in the way I would have expected them to, naturally ), but for the aforementioned reasons and my less-than-frequent posting rate I've abstained from any GMing attempts for a while now.

    That being said, I do have considerably more character concepts in mind that I'd like to see play out than I have ideas for games I would like to run, so I suppose the answer to this thread's overarching question is right there.

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Flumph

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I like both .

    I have DM,d more than play only because most players dont want to dm.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Personally I have a tendency to zone out if I'm a player. I'm so used to being the GM where you almost always have something to do, you're always in the moment, and it's really easy to focus - I don't have a chance to zone out.
    Always looking for critique of my 5E homebrew!


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  27. - Top - End - #27
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    RangerGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    While I prefer to be a player, I also do a lot of homebrewing/design work for both sides of the table, which necessitates me doing a lot of GMing.
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  28. - Top - End - #28
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    RangerGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    Whether I'm a GM or PC, I'm always the Dice Master lol.

    Back to OP though, I'm the guy that enjoys playing. If we need a GM, I'll do that. If we need a player, I'll do that. Hell I've played with 3 PCs as a player in some sessions. If I had to pick one though, I'd actually probably go player. Yeah I can do cool things as a GM, but to be able to work a build as a player just seems more legit than having a DM pet.

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    DammitVictor's Avatar

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    There are a number of games I run frequently that I really wish someone else would run, for once, so I could play in them. My standard PHB/OA/SJ D&D game, Street Fighter: the Storytelling Game, any of the settings I'm trying to develop for publication. Marvel Heroic Roleplayin, especially in the eXiles format I initially popularized.

    But I see running a game as... a kind of a performance, a kind of a service, and there's nothing I love more than combining "making people happy" with showing off.

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Do you prefer to be a player or GM/DM?

    I am a GM/DM/Referee/Keeper/Loremaster/Storyteller/Whatever who spends a lot of time playing while waiting for his turn to GM again.

    I enjoy playing, but I generally enjoy GMing more.

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